A BATTLE of Britain hero was reunited with the Second World War plane he had flown at a special ceremony in Northolt last week.

Squadron Leader Franciszek Kornicki, now 93-years-old, once again laid eyes on his old Spitfire plane after it flew in specially to RAF Northolt on Friday, at 4.30pm.

The reunion was supported by Hillingdon Council as part of a series of events to mark 70 years since the Battle of Britain.

Cllr Ray Puddifoot, leader of the council, said: "This is a great occasion to reunite a Battle of Britain airman with the original plane he flew in the Second World War.

"I don't think this can happen very often. We are immensely proud of the role that the Polish Air Force played in the Battle of Britain and we are very pleased we can be part of this celebration today."

Squadron Leader Kornicki added: "It is absolutely wonderful to be reunited with my plane. This is a wonderful bird to fly, which I first flew in 1942. It brings back lots of memories and everything comes alive again from so many years ago."

I dont know what the old gent did with his life but what an experience that must have been. I mean what do you say to the guy? He was there in that plane, who else can say that?

perhaps he could have said this (Churchills "the few" speech was inspired by Shakespeare), Crispins day is October 25th, thats close enough I think.

That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,

This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be rememberèd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England, now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

"I first came to England in 1939. The war had started, and the British didn't have enough trained pilots," he says.

Frank was an experienced pilot in Poland and a fully qualified graduate of the Polish Air Force College. He was soon in combat: "Fighter squadrons would fly across the Channel and it was our job to defend the bombers. If you are shot at and you don't see it you are dead. A lot of chaps died on our side and on their side - France was awash with blood at that time."

The Poles made a vital contribution to the war, not to mention the Battle of Britain, where the highest scoring squadron within the whole Allied air force was the Polish 303.

But what of the constant danger?: "You have no time to contemplate how dangerous it is. Everyone was aware it was a dangerous job, but you were flying a jolly good aeroplane!"

Frank decided to stay in England after the war, rather than return to a country in the grip of Soviet Communism, but life was far from easy. He didn't feel totally accepted in those early days, in spite of his wartime work:

"At first, it was like the British were ungrateful for what I did. But I stuck at it and eventually I made a good living in the catering trade.

"People would always ask me, 'When are you going back to Poland?... You're a pilot, you're not useful!'. I told them I would not be a slave to a communist regime.

"Mr Bevin, the Secretary of State, sent a letter to encourage us to leave the country.

"You can imagine how one would feel. We were, at the beginning of the war, the only allies of any consequence. When the war ended we were redundant and we were a burden."

Nevertheless Frank decided to stay in England with his English wife, work hard at learning the language and make a full contribution to society in the process.

"I decided I liked England. The people are fair by and large. The laws are good. I thought it was a good country to settle in..."